Shilo Sanders has found an unusual way to revisit one of the most controversial moments of his short-lived NFL career. The former Colorado safety released his latest music album, World of Headache, on Sunday, and its rollout has already generated plenty of discussion among football fans.

The album appears to draw heavily from Sanders’ brief professional football experience, particularly the incident that brought his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to an abrupt end.

Sanders entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2025 after going unselected during the draft. The Buccaneers gave him an opportunity to compete for a place on their roster, but his preseason campaign ended after an altercation with Buffalo Bills tight end Zach Davidson.

During a preseason matchup, tensions between Sanders and Davidson escalated before the former Colorado player threw a punch. The incident resulted in Sanders being ejected, and Tampa Bay subsequently waived him ahead of the regular-season roster deadline. The NFL also handed Sanders a $4,669 fine for the incident.

While the altercation became a defining moment of Sanders’ NFL journey, he now appears to be embracing it rather than attempting to distance himself from it.

Shilo Sanders brings his NFL controversy into the music world

The title of his new album, World of Headache, already hints at a project built around personal struggles and difficult experiences. That connection becomes even more obvious with the album’s opening track, Go Out Swinging.

The song title appears to reference the punch that ended Sanders’ time in Tampa Bay, but the album artwork has attracted even more attention. The cover uses imagery inspired by the infamous preseason confrontation, although there’s a significant change to the original scene.

Instead of Davidson, the artwork depicts Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid as the player involved in the confrontation. Kincaid wasn’t the player Sanders fought during the preseason game, and that detail quickly became a talking point among fans.

Social media reactions were largely critical. Some fans accused Sanders of attempting to generate publicity by altering the incident, while others questioned why he would continue drawing attention to an episode that contributed to the end of his NFL opportunity.

The decision to feature Kincaid also left some observers wondering whether the artwork was intended purely as a provocative marketing move.

Not everyone in the Sanders family seemed bothered by the controversy, however. Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Shilo’s younger brother, reacted to the album post with a simple but supportive comment: “Legendary.”

Shilo’s football future now appears uncertain after he hinted earlier this year that he could be moving on from the sport. Music may therefore represent a new direction for the Sanders brother, giving him an opportunity to build an identity beyond football.